{Real Parties} An Apple Harvest Birthday Party

Fall is almost over, but I just had to share this DARLING apple harvest party with you! Katie Nguyen Wells of Petite Social styled the most adorable birthday party for a recent client. The party was held in a beautiful open field and near a large oak tree. Katie used nature as the backdrop to the styled tables.

The children's table was so quaint. The color scheme used, kraft and red, is an all time favorite of mine! Katie incorporated burlap as well which I LOVE.

{I think I might have a slight addiction to burlap!}

The kraft paper lunch boxes held a delicious, fuss-free lunch of wrapped sandwiches, chips and fresh fruit served in mason jars.

Each little party guest took him a goody bag filled with items from a scavenger hunt and apple harvest themed cookies by JP Creatibles.

What a pretty and simple homemade cake!

And the mason jar arrangements added the perfect amount of charm and frill to the party!

Don't you just love the homemade feel of this party! Be sure to visit Petite Social's website for more party inspiration!

Vendors:

Petite Social - event styling + photography

JP Creatibles - custom cookies

Sweet LuLu - milk glasses + straws + twine

PaperMart - kraft lunch boxes

The Homespun Hostess - burlap bags (which held the cookies)

{Real Parties} A Day in the Country

Hello friends! I am still alive and well in case you were wondering! It's mind boggling to me how busy I have been with client parties and end of the year activities with my boys. I promise to be back blogging in full force VERY soon.

This past weekend, my family hosted a Day in the Country party at our farm in Bellville, Texas. We had such a wonderful time hanging out with new country friends and friends who traveled to the event from Houston. Of course I had to add special touches here and there and Kelly from The Party Dress and WH Hostess was there to help. Kelly designed the cutest sunflower invitation with a fresh twist!

Simple tables adorned with white tablecloths and sunflower arrangements with accents of green were placed on top of custom fabric by Spoonflower (via WH Hostess) that was made to match the invitation design!

For dessert, we served various pies. This fit perfectly with our theme! I asked Kelly to design pie flags to place in each pie to let guests know which was which. The pie buffet included pecan pie from Goode Co. BBQ, Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie and Buttermilk from Royer's and Apple Pie from the Houston Racquet Club. The table was definitely a crowd pleaser!

Whole Foods (Woodway location) in Houston created gorgeous centerpieces for the tables!

As our friends departed, we handed out custom sunflower cookies made by Michael's Cookie Jar complete with a favor tag designed by Kelly that said, "Thanks for Spending the Day at Bellwood Farm".

I hope you enjoyed these pictures from our casual get together in the country! Hopefully these pictures will inspire you to host an outdoor summer party and take a flower, in this case, a sunflower, and give it a fresh twist.

Sources

Invitations & coordinating paper goods - WH Hostess

Flowers - Whole Foods, Woodway location. Ask for Gail!

White vases - Ikea

Cookies - Michael's Cookie Jar

Tablecloths - Aztec Houston

{Real Parties} A Breakfast Birthday Party on a Budget

My friend Casey and her husband are uber creative. She is a talented artist and he is a photographer. They were on a tight budget this year for their son's second birthday celebration, but that didn't mean they couldn't celebrate in style! For Aidan's party, they threw a breakfast party in style....

Casey put together a cereal bar full of childhood treats! On the menu were cereals such as Cap'n Crunch and Trix and sweet add ins like yogurt covered pretzels and Oreos.

Of course cake had to be served! Casey created the cutest mason jar cupcakes with Oreos!

Personalized favor bags, at a nice price I might add, make each guest feel special. These muslin bags by Perideau Designs make the perfect favor bag! I recently used these for Nick's Safari Party.

Since Casey is an artist and so passionate about art, painting had to be involved! All of the little guests were able to paint on a blank canvas which will serve as a keepsake for Aidan.

Here is sweet Aidan LOVING the attention he received while everyone sang Happy Birthday to him! Casey said that when the song was finished, Aidan did the baby sign language for "more". Absolutely precious!

I just love every detail of this heartfelt party. And it goes to show you that you can create a special party on a strict budget! Thank you Casey for sharing this party! For a daily does of creativity and positive posts, visit Casey's blog.

Sources

Invitation and decor: MF Creative Designs

Banner: My Creative Side

Muslin favor bags: Perideau Designs

Photography: Chris Weigand Photography

If you are in the market for a custom piece of art, be sure to check out Casey's modern pieces! I am about to have a piece commissioned and can't wait!

{Real Parties} A Burger Bash!

A friend of mine from college, Ashley, quite possibly hosted THE CUTEST burger bash I have ever seen!!! This party was in honor of her son, Graham's, first birthday. Ashley added so many handmade touches that I know you will love!

The party colors were the ever-so-popular red and blue which is perfect for a boy or girl! The "G" door sign was a simple touch, yet so special. I love how Ashley added gingham ribbon inside the letter for that added touch!

Can we please talk about how adorable the Happy Meal boxes are?! All Ashley did was collect a few authentic boxes from McDonald's and then cover them with paper in the party colors. Precious!

Mason jars were found throughout the party. Here they are used as vases. I always have trouble finding ways to incorporate flowers into a boy birthday party. Sunflowers are a not too girly and were perfect for this theme!

If you haven't guessed it yet, Ashley is crafty! She used her Cricut machine to create the birthday banner. I really like the large circles!

The burger baskets and paper from Sur la Table added the perfect touch!

Veggie Sticks which looked just like fries!

I love how Ashley used water bottle stickers instead of wrap around labels. Don't get me wrong, I love wrap around labels, but the sticker was a unique touch!

This just might be my favorite part! These are sugar cookies made to look like fries!! How clever!

Ashley made the hamburger cupcake toppers!! Still can't get over that. She used Nilla Wafers, dyed coconut, icing and a Keebler Grasshopper Cookie.

Graham's smash cake came from Kroger!

Ashley ALSO made the mason jar cupcake favors! These are to die for! The favors were made from vanilla cupcakes, brownies and icing.

Here is a sweet picture of the birthday boy before he dove into his smash cake!

Thank you Ashley for letting me share Graham's first birthday celebration! Your kids are so lucky to have such a talented mommy!

Sources:

Burger baskets and paper, cupcake wrappers - Sur la Table

Water bottle stickers, fry stickers, favor stickers - Kim's Custom Gifts via Etsy

Birthday banner and fry holders - Made by Ashley using a Cricut and cardstock